Looking for career change ideas for an architect

[Wheredidtheselotapego]

I’m in a career rut after returning from mat leave, I’ve been working for current practice since graduating so have little experience of working elsewhere and low self confidence in terms of my own skills.

I hate the fact that being an architect right now offers neither creativity (I’m just constantly battling revit) or pays enough to have a decent lifestyle on a part time (4 day a week) salary.

I’m maybe being unrealistic but I feel like there must be a role I can easily slot into in the construction industry or elsewhere with my skills and experience that offers the potential for some upskilling and progression once I’m out of the no sleep years.

Project management is the obvious choice but that’s the part of the job I least enjoy. I do like the technical side, problem solving, designing, organising systems. I don’t mind boring if it gives me the opportunity to have time for creativity outside of work. I don’t enjoy client side / managing people. What can I do?!

Go into the film industry to do set design. I know other architects who have done that.

I started a very similar thread a couple of years back! I’ll link it, there was some useful advice on it.

Away from project management and clients, the obvious one are going contractor side -as design management. But in my experience does not tend to be particularly great for flexible working. Your knowledge would work across CDM, access consultancy, sustainability consultancy, social value, net zero carbon work, if you are good at site inspections and writing reports, still relevant to architectural projects but will get you away from Revit.

Or how about technical rep work for construction or interior design products? I know a few former architects who enjoy the problem-solving aspects of this.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/work/4311617-Career-change-after-architecture

Or how about Design and Technology teacher at secondary school? There are bursaries available for some PGCE courses, and some let you train on the job. It would be 5 days a week but you’d get the school hood.

school holidays, damn autocorrect!

Thank you, that’s a really useful thread and good ideas. I would love to do set design but I think that’s very specific to some locations and long hours / low pay from what I know of friends in the film industry? Some kind of consultancy would be good but I don’t have any specialism at the moment and not sure how to break into something else when I feel like I’ve been doing a very general role for so long. What did you end up doing?

Estate or facilities management ? The large US corporation I worked for had an architect on the team to do the constant reorganisation / space redesign that was required for a company which was big on mergers and acquisitions.
Interior design? Sexing up otherwise dull houses - again it’s possibly consulting but has some creativity involved.
Or look for an Environmental / green focused company, reworking existing homes to be more green-friendly.

The architect I know who works on the film industry is on very good pay.

What sort of company do they work for? A film studio itself or an independent set builder?

Self-employed on various films. Not sure exactly who pays the invoices!

My friend moved into web design. Not actually doing the programming but the sales and marketing person and the one who did the design and layout on story boards with the clients. She concentrates on companies in the built environment as that's where her network is.

The pay is excellent, but take it from me its not a job many women do, to start with, and nearly negligible amount of mothers do or stay in, due to the hours, and depending on location, the travel if not in or attached to a studio. 90% of any Art Department is male, and the females are all younger with no children or don't intend having any. Its also very dependent on shooting schedules, so there could be 3 months of 12 hour days then job done, and nothing again for 6 weeks or more. Its very unionised also, which is good as its well regulated and paid, but means theres a strict hierarchy, so you start at the bottom and work up..

Usually invoices are sent to the accountant linked to the production company and they process the pay from the productions budget. Most art dept/set dec/arty people on sets are self employed.

Thanks @justforthisnow thats the impression I got of the industry from my friend who works in props

beyond the typical related careers of planning, interiors etc I’m wondering if there’s anything in newer / growing industries like renewables that would need someone with my skill set

Have you considered setting up on your own? You'll have more freedom to make design decisions and manage your own budget/ fees.

@Wheredidtheselotapego I know this is an old post but google found it and I honestly could have written this myself! Did you manage a career change in the end, OP?
I am so fed up with my job as an architect. I'm stressed out and badly paid, stuck in a career that has so little joy these days. I have no prospects of progression as I don't want to be a manager. My 4 day a week salary barely covers necessities and I rarely have any spare to treat myself, my little boy or my partner. But I genuinely can't stomach the idea of going back to 5 days. I have a 40 mile round commute everyday, no work from home (unless absolutely necessary) and no benefits. We spent the majority of our savings just surviving maternity leave.
I'm desperate for a change but have no idea what else I could transfer to that wouldn't mean a drop in salary we can't afford. I haven't the money or time to retrain. My experience lies mainly in the earlier stages, so design and planning rather than technical design and job running. My specialty is historic buildings and I had a brief stint as a heritage consultant, but missed the creative side (what little there is these days). I have thought about setting up a heritage consultancy myself but I'd be so worried about getting enough work and taking holidays/sickness. Though the idea of working on my own terms sounds blissful. All the consultancy jobs seem to be city-based, which isn't an option with where I live. I thought about local authority (maybe a conservation officer) but they all seem super swamped, and my planning consultant colleague talked me out of it 😆
Feeling utterly stuck and out of ideas. Grateful of any advice!